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A review by jlbrown23
Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty by John M. Barry
5.0
Roger Williams is my new hero. I knew almost nothing about him before reading this book(left Mass. over religious differences with Puritans & founded Rhode Island). Now I know that he is the one who founded MY America.
Williams believed it was possible to be a devout Christian, yet still tolerate and respect the beliefs of others. The Puritans on the other hand had a long list of beliefs, and if you didn't agree 100%, you would wind up banished or dead. NO religious tolerance at all(thus "Pure-itans").
Sound familiar? The author's central premise is that this conflict continues to this day. There is a part of this country that thinks if you don't have a narrow set of thoughts and beliefs, you are not a "real American". There is another part that is deeply committed to their own beliefs(whatever they may be), but are happy to let others follow their own path as long as they are paying their bills and not hurting anyone.
For those like me on "Team Live and Let Live", Williams is essentially our founding father. He risked much taking that stand, and the books goes through the tribulations and formative moments that molded his beliefs. His defining moment was when (for daring to disagree with some of their beliefs) his fellow Christians drove him out of his home in to the wilderness in the middle of the New England winter. This meant almost certain death. Yet the "heathen" Indians decided to take him in and shelter him until the weather broke. This was in part due to the friendship and respect Williams had with the Indians before this incident (due to him being open and inquisitive instead of close minded and dogmatic).
Another interesting premise is William's main basis for disagreement with the Puritans - that combining religion and government would corrupt RELIGION. We tend to think of this the other way around, but I think that Williams' view is more correct and profound. His premise is that God's kingdom was perfect and pure, but that Man's kingdom was flawed and corrupt. Attempting to combine them profaned religion and allowed human corruption to contaminate it.
When you are looking for who to be thankful to for our freedom of worship in this country - look AWAY from the dogmatic Pilgrims, and towards Roger Williams. And read his story to learn what to me might be the most important part of our history I never heard about in school.
Williams believed it was possible to be a devout Christian, yet still tolerate and respect the beliefs of others. The Puritans on the other hand had a long list of beliefs, and if you didn't agree 100%, you would wind up banished or dead. NO religious tolerance at all(thus "Pure-itans").
Sound familiar? The author's central premise is that this conflict continues to this day. There is a part of this country that thinks if you don't have a narrow set of thoughts and beliefs, you are not a "real American". There is another part that is deeply committed to their own beliefs(whatever they may be), but are happy to let others follow their own path as long as they are paying their bills and not hurting anyone.
For those like me on "Team Live and Let Live", Williams is essentially our founding father. He risked much taking that stand, and the books goes through the tribulations and formative moments that molded his beliefs. His defining moment was when (for daring to disagree with some of their beliefs) his fellow Christians drove him out of his home in to the wilderness in the middle of the New England winter. This meant almost certain death. Yet the "heathen" Indians decided to take him in and shelter him until the weather broke. This was in part due to the friendship and respect Williams had with the Indians before this incident (due to him being open and inquisitive instead of close minded and dogmatic).
Another interesting premise is William's main basis for disagreement with the Puritans - that combining religion and government would corrupt RELIGION. We tend to think of this the other way around, but I think that Williams' view is more correct and profound. His premise is that God's kingdom was perfect and pure, but that Man's kingdom was flawed and corrupt. Attempting to combine them profaned religion and allowed human corruption to contaminate it.
When you are looking for who to be thankful to for our freedom of worship in this country - look AWAY from the dogmatic Pilgrims, and towards Roger Williams. And read his story to learn what to me might be the most important part of our history I never heard about in school.